In this article, we will look at the 8 Cheap Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now. Let’s look at where Taseko Mines Ltd (TGB) stands against other cheap penny stocks.

The economy of the United States has stabilized, with inflation continuously cooling down and the risk of recession overruled. The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on September 18, slashing them by half a point as a start to its first easing cycle in four years. The Federal Reserve statement said:

“The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance.”

However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced on September 30 that the recent aggressive half-percentage point interest rate cuts should not be interpreted as a sign that future rate cuts would also be as aggressive. Instead, they are likely to be smaller. Talking to the National Association for Business Economics, he said:

“Looking forward, if the economy evolves broadly as expected, policy will move over time toward a more neutral stance. But we are not on any preset course. The risks are two-sided, and we will continue to make our decisions meeting by meeting.”

Powell expressed confidence in the country’s economic strength, claiming that inflation is expected to continue cooling. He also indicated that if the economic data shows consistency in the coming days, two more rate cuts would likely materialize in 2024. These, however, are expected to come in smaller quarter percentage point increments. This trend goes against market expectations for more aggressive cuts and easing.

During a Q&A session after his speech in Nashville, Tennessee, he said that:

“This is not a committee that feels like it’s in a hurry to cut rates quickly. If the economy performs as expected, that would mean two more rate cuts this year, a total of 50 [basis points] more.”

Sustainable Growth Expected in Small Caps Amidst Market Shifts

On July 26, Nathan Moser, Managing Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Impax Asset Management, discussed some long-term possibilities for small-cap stocks on Schwab Network. Talking about the recent changes in small stocks, he discussed the positive shift and noted that the recent rise in small caps appears more sustainable after years of struggle. This trend is primarily driven by strong inflows into ETFs and passive investment vehicles.

Despite short-term volatility, Mooser believes the market’s current move could last for years. He thus encouraged buying on market dips, while highlighting the need to focus on profitable, high-quality companies due to the potential risks typically associated with lower-quality stocks in small caps.

Our Methodology

We first consulted stock screeners from Finviz and Yahoo Finance to create an initial list of 15 publicly traded penny stocks with forward P/E ratios of less than 15 as of October 1, 2024. From this list, we selected the 8 stocks with the highest number of hedge funds holders as of Q2 2024, and used that as our ranking metric. The stocks we identified are profitable, have positive EPS growth, and are expected to remain profitable in the future as well.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).

Taseko Mines Ltd (NYSE:TGB)

Share Price: $2.56

Forward P/E: 12.64

EPS Growth This Year: 81.80%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 13

Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB) is a copper-focused mining company located in Canada. Its principal assets are the 100% owned Gibraltar mine in central British Columbia. It is one of the largest copper mines in North America. The Florence Copper project, which is currently under construction, also falls under the company’s portfolio. In addition, it owns the Yellowhead copper, Aley niobium, and New Prosperity gold-copper projects.

The Florence Copper Project is located in Florence, Arizona, south of Phoenix, while the Yellowhead Project is in British Columbia’s Thompson-Nicola region. The Aley niobium project is located in northeast British Columbia, while the New Prosperity property lies in south-central British Columbia, with one of the most substantial gold and copper deposits in Canada.

Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB) had several significant accomplishments in 2024, positioning it on the path to profitability. Some of these include consolidating 100% ownership of its Gibraltar mine, refinancing its bonds, completing the project financing for Florence, and kickstarting a positive start to the construction activities for the Florence project.

The company also completed the CAD50 million (around $37 million) in-pit crusher relocation project. This 2-year project was a significant undertaking for its operations. Its Concentrator#1 is also back up, with both mills now running at capacity and paving the way for a strong second half of 2024.

2025 is shaping to be a good production year for the company, with its concentrate production expected to be supplemented by additional pounds from the restart of the Gibraltar SX/EW plant. The company has been stacking new oxide ore from the connector pit onto the old leach pads over the last few quarters. It plans to have more than 50 million pounds of contained copper in the leach dumps by next year, along with advanced plans to refurbish the plant in 2025.

Taseko Mines (NYSE:TGB) is expected to restart cathode production in Q2 2025. Such initiatives position the company on the path to profitability, making it an attractive investment.

Overall, TGB ranks second among the 8 cheap penny stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential of TGB as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TGB but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA ‘Has Become A Wasteland’.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.